Iqaluit

Iqaluit ( /ɨˈkæluːɨt/; ᐃᖃᓗᐃᑦ [iqɑluit] in Inuktitut syllabics) is the territorial capital and the largest community of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Iqaluit is located on the south coast of Baffin Island at the head of Frobisher Bay. As of the 2006 census the population was 6,184, an increase of 18.1 percent from the 2001 census; it has the lowest population of any capital city in Canada.^[3] Inhabitants of Iqaluit are called Iqalummiut (singular: Iqalummiuq). Prior to 1987 the community was named Frobisher Bay.

History

Iqaluit was founded in 1942 as an American airbase, geographically located to provide a stop-over and refueling site for short range fighter aircraft being ferried across the Atlantic to support the war effort in Europe. Iqaluit's first permanent inhabitant was Nakasuk, an Inuk guide who helped American Air Force planners to choose a site with a large flat area suitable for a landing strip. Long regarded as a campsite and fishing spot by the Inuit, the place chosen had traditionally been named Iqaluit – "place of many fish" in Inuktitut – but Canadian and American authorities named it Frobisher Bay, after the name of the body of water it abuts.

The Hudson's Bay Company moved its south Baffin operations to the neighbouring valley of Niaqunngut, officially called Apex, in 1949 to take advantage of the airfield. The population of Frobisher Bay increased rapidly during the construction of the Distant Early Warning Line (DEW line, a system of radar stations, see North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)) in the mid-1950s. Hundreds of construction workers, military personnel, and administrative staff moved into the community, and several hundred Inuit followed to take advantage of the access to medical care and jobs the base provided. In 1957, 489 of the town's 1,200 residents were reported to be Inuit. After 1959, the Canadian government established permanent services at Frobisher Bay, including full-time doctors, a school and social services. The Inuit population grew rapidly in response, as the government encouraged Inuit to settle permanently in communities with government services.

The American military left Iqaluit in 1963, as intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) diminished the strategic value of the DEW line and Arctic airbases, but Frobisher Bay remained the government's administrative and logistical centre for much of the eastern Arctic. In 1964, the first elections were held for a community council, and in 1979 for the first mayor. The founding of the Gordon Robertson Educational Centre, now Inuksuk High School, in the early 1970s at Iqaluit confirmed the government's commitment to the community as an administrative centre. At the time of its founding, it was the sole high school operating in more than one-seventh of Canadian territory.

On 1 January 1987, the name of this municipality was officially changed from "Frobisher Bay" to "Iqaluit" - aligning official usage with the name that the Inuit population had always used (although, many documents still referred to Iqaluit as Frobisher Bay for several years after 1987). In December 1995, Iqaluit was selected to serve as Nunavut's future capital in a territory-wide referendum, in which it was chosen over Rankin Inlet. On 19 April 2001 it was officially redesignated as a city.

Iqaluit was designated by Canada as the host city for the 2010 meeting of the G7 finance ministers, held on 5–6 February.^[4] The meeting strained the northern communications technology infrastructure.^[5]

Timeline

• 1576 - Englishman Martin Frobisher sails into Frobisher Bay believing he has found the route to China. First Anglican/Episcopalian church service in North America.
• 1861 - Charles Francis Hall, an American, camps at the Sylvia Grinnell River and explores the waters of Koojesse Inlet, which he names after his Inuit guide
• 1942 - U.S. Army Air Forces selects Iqaluit’s current location as the site of a major air base
• 1949 - The HBC moves its trading post from Ward Inlet to Apex
• 1955 - Frobisher Bay becomes the centre for U.S. Canada Dew Line construction operations
• 1958 - Telephone exchange service established by Bell Canada
• 1963 - US military move out of Iqaluit
• 1964 - First community council formed; population of Frobisher Bay is 900
• 1970 - Frobisher Bay officially recognized as a Settlement
• 1974 - Settlement of Frobisher Bay gains village status
• 1976 - Inuit present the Nunavut proposal to the Federal government
• 1979 - First mayor elected
• 1980 - Frobisher Bay designated as a town
• 1982 - Government of Canada agrees in principle to the creation of Nunavut
• 1987 - Frobisher Bay officially becomes Iqaluit, reverting to its original Inuktitut name meaning "place of (many) fish"
• 1993 - The Nunavut Land Claims Agreement is signed in Iqaluit
• 1995 - Nunavut residents select Iqaluit as capital of the new territory^[6]
• 1 April 1999 - The Territory of Nunavut officially comes into being
• 19 April 2001 - Iqaluit receives its order of official status as a city
• 2002 - Iqaluit, along with Nuuk, Greenland, co-host the first jointly hosted Arctic Winter Games; the Arctic Winter Games Arena constructed in Iqaluit for event.
• 5 February 2010 - Iqaluit hosted the finance meeting as part of the 2010 G7 summit.^[7]

Geography

Iqaluit is located in the Everett Mountains rising from Koojesse (Kuujussi) Inlet, an inlet of Frobisher Bay, on the southeast part of Baffin Island. It is well to the east of Nunavut's mainland, and northeast of Hudson Bay.

Suburbs

Apex is a small community about 5 km (3.1 mi) southeast () from Iqaluit's centre and is known in Inuktitut as Niaqunngut. It is located on a small peninsula separating Koojesse Inlet from Tarr Inlet. There is a women's shelter, a church, a store, a primary school, a design shop and a bed−and−breakfast.

Historically Apex was the place where most Inuit lived when Iqaluit was a military site, and as such it was off−limits to anyone not working at the base.

Climate

Iqaluit has a typically Arctic climate, although it is well outside the Arctic Circle, with very cold winters and short summers that are too cool to permit the growth of trees. Although it is north of the tree line there are still shrubs that are classed, locally, as trees. They are known as Arctic Willow (Salix arctica). They are hard to recognize as a tree because of their height. The permafrost does not allow the taproot to get deeper than 6 in (150 mm) so this does not allow vertical growth. The Arctic Willow may be up to around 25 ft (7.6 m) horizontally, but only 6 in (150 mm) tall. Average monthly temperatures are below freezing for eight months of the year.^[8] Iqaluit's precipitation averages just over 400 mm (16 in) annually, much wetter than many other localities in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, with the summer being the wettest season.

Snowstorms and blizzards

The city of Iqaluit experiences some destructive winter storms during the winter season. A notable blizzard indirectly hit Iqaluit in early February 2007, with wind gusts up to 130 kilometres per hour (81 mph).

Demographics

• Aboriginal people^[9] 60.0%
  • Inuit 58.2%
  • Métis 0.9%
  • North American Indian 0.7%
• Non-Aboriginal 40.0%

• Mother tongue^[3]
  • English (Official, Federal) 42.8%
  • French (Official, Federal) 4.5%
  • English and French 0.2%
  • Other 52.4%
    • Of the Aboriginal population 81.2% stated that an Aboriginal language (predominantly Inuktitut (an official language at the territorial level) but includes other Aboriginal languages) was their mother tongue and 87.8% had a knowledge of an Aboriginal language.^[9]

• Religion^[10]
  • Protestant 64.4%
  • Roman Catholic (Roman Catholic Diocese of Churchill-Baie d'Hudson) 19.4%
  • Other Christian 2.5%
  • Other religions 1.2%
    • Muslim 0.3%
    • Buddhist 0.2%
  • No religion 12.6%

Notable Iqalummiut

Transportation

Iqaluit has the distinction of being the smallest Canadian capital in terms of population and the only capital that is not connected to other settlements by a highway. Located on an island remote from the Canadian highway system, Iqaluit is generally only accessible by aircraft and, subject to ice conditions, by boat. Iqaluit Airport is a fully modern facility whose originally Second World War era runway is more than long enough for most classes of modern jet. A persistent rumour that Iqaluit is an emergency landing site for the Space Shuttle is false.^[15] Iqaluit Airport was a centre for cold-weather testing of new aircraft, such as the Airbus A380 in February 2006. Both Canadian North and First Air serve Iqaluit from Ottawa and Yellowknife as well as multiple communities in Nunavut. Air Canada Jazz also provided daily service to Iqaluit from Ottawa between March 28, 2010 and July 31, 2011. CBC reports the Air Canada service was cancelled due to rising fuel costs, among other issues, which prevented the route from being profitable.^[16][17] Locally based airlines include Air Nunavut, Canadian Helicopters, Nunasi Helicopters and Unaalik Aviation. All provide air charters and Air Nunavut and Kivalliq Air provide MEDIVAC/air ambulance service.

In the middle of summer, a few ships — generally no larger than a Liberty class vessel — transport bulk and heavy goods to the city. Cargo is off-loaded onto barges as the harbour is not deep enough. The city is currently planning a deepwater port.^[18] Experienced locals also cross the Hudson Strait from the Canadian mainland when it freezes over, either on foot or by dog sled or snowmobile, a distance of over 100 km (62 mi).

Iqaluit has a local road system only stretching from the nearby community of Apex to the Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park Reserve, 1 km (0.62 mi) west of town. Iqaluit currently has no public transportation, although there is city-wide taxi service. (There was bus service in the city before, but the service was cancelled due to low ridership.) Motor cars are increasing in number, to the extent of causing occasional traffic jams known locally as "the rush minute." However, the cost of shipping automobiles and the wear-and-tear of the harsh Arctic climate combined with its notoriously rough roadways mean that snowmobiles remain the preferred form of personal transportation. All-terrain vehicles are also increasingly common in most of the Canadian Arctic. Snowmobiles are used to travel both within the city and in the surrounding area. In winter, dog sleds are still used, but primarily for recreation. In winter, the nearby Qaummaarviit Territorial Historic Park and the more remote Katannilik Territorial Park Reserve are only accessible by snowmobile, dog sled or foot. In the summer, both are accessible by boat.

Both residents and businesses identify their locations mostly by building number, and occasionally by the name of a prominent structure. Residents know where in the city certain series of building numbers are located; numbers tend to be aggregated in blocks, so someone might say that they live in the 2600s. Around 2003, street names were developed, although there were delays in finalizing them and posting the signs. Street numbers have not been assigned, and building numbers continue to be used. Iqaluit is the only Canadian capital city not to have traffic signals.^[19]

Architecture and attractions

Much of Iqaluit's architecture is functional — designed to minimize material costs, while retaining heat and withstanding the climate. Early architecture runs from the 1950s military barracks of the original DEW line installation, through the 1970s white hyper-modernist fibreglass block of the Nakasuk School and Municipal Offices and Arena, to the lines of the steel-reinforced concrete high-rise complex on the hill above it. A number of older Hudson's Bay Company and early 1950s buildings have been retained and restored in Apex (the former nursing station has been revived as the Rannva Bed and Breakfast, the HBC buildings as an art gallery). The newer buildings are more colourful and diverse, and closer to the norms of southern architecture, but largely unremarkable.

The principal exception is the Nunavut Legislative Assembly Building, which is remarkable for its colourful interior, adorned with some of the very best in Inuit art. A new legislative building is in planning to be developed and built outside the city on the Apex Road.

Another distinctive building was St. Jude's Anglican Cathedral, see of the Anglican Diocese of Arctic, which was a white building shaped like an igloo. Originally built by the parishioners, under the guidance of Markoosie Peter, a traditional master carpenter, the altar was shaped like a traditional Inuit sled, and the cross composed of two crossed narwhal tusks. An incident of arson severely affected the Cathedral structure and interior on 5 November 2005,^[20] and it was finally demolished on 1 June 2006. The cathedral is slowly being rebuilt (foundation 2008 super structure 2010) and fund-raising continues locally and internationally. As of December 2010, the exterior of a similarly shaped replacement cathedral had been completed, and interior work was planned for 2011 with a potential opening for Christmas 2011. On a ridge overlooking the city is the distinctive blue and white Inuksuk High School. The school is made up of four square sections joined together that give a clover leaf shape when viewed from the air.

The city is also the location of the Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum, which houses a large collection of Inuit and Arctic objects. The museum is housed in a restored and extended Hudson's Bay Company building, clad in the HBC signature red and white, transported to Iqaluit from its original site on the Apex Beach.

Just west of Iqaluit is the Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park Reserve. This park is dominated by the valley of the Sylvia Grinnell River. A small visitor's centre with viewing platform is located on top of a hill overlooking scenic waterfalls, tidal flats and traditional fishing sites.

Nearby on an island near Peterhead Inlet, is the Qaummaarviit Territorial Historic Park. It is a site with a long Inuit history and numerous artifacts have been recovered, including the remains of 11 semi-buried sod houses.

A little farther, across Frobisher Bay, are the Katannilik Territorial Park Reserve and the Soper Heritage River Park forming a park corridor linking Iqaluit along traditional overland travel routes with [Kimmirut] (formerly Lake Harbour). Frobisher Bay extends for almost 70 miles to the east, with moderate hills, glaciers and traditional and summer camp sites, opening into the Davis Straits which divide Nunavut from Greenland.

Iqaluit, like many Nunavut communities has a volunteer run annual spring festival. Called Toonik Tyme it involves a combination of traditional Inuit activities combined with more modern events, while the Alianait Music and Arts Festival is held for a week each June 21.

Media

Radio

Television

Press

See also

• You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do as You're Told)

References

Further reading

External links

• City of Iqaluit